UT football: Acho named Big 12 sportsman of the year

AUSTIN — After reaping several prestigious honors for his combination of on-field and off-field accomplishments during his career at Texas, former Longhorns defensive end Sam Acho received one more Tuesday by being named the Big 12′s sportsperson of the year.

Sam Acho (Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News)

Acho, who received the award along with Baylor women’s basketball player Melissa Jones, is the second UT player to be named Big 12 sportsperson of the year, joining 2004-’05 winner Ahmard Hall.

In addition to his prolific career as a defensive end, in which he had 23.5 sacks (No. 10 on UT’s career list), 37 tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries, Acho was a business honors student twice named an academic All-American.

He made multiple trips to Nigeria on medical missions, during which he helped doctors provide assistance to people in need in his parents’ native country. Acho also organized fundraisers for the missions, mentored elementary school students in Austin, helped teach adults English as a second language and worked for Habitat for Humanity.

Acho, a fourth-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals, also won the Campbell Trophy (known as the “academic Heisman”), the Wuerffel Award (honoring college football’s best all-around student athlete) and the ARA Sportsmanship Award.